Day after epic, Blackhawks, Bruins forge ahead

June 13, 2013|By Brian Hamilton | Tribune reporter

Andrew Shaw (second from left) is mobbed after scoring the winning goal in a third overtime Wednesday. (Chris Sweda / MCT)

Having lived to tell about it, Johnny Oduya stood in the Chicago Blackhawks dressing room long after Wednesday became Thursday in the Stanley Cup Final, somehow finding the energy to find a way to describe what exactly was keeping him upright.

"This is what it’s all about," the Hawks defenseman said after an epic 4-3, three-overtime Game 1 win over the Bruins.

"You just feel it when you’re out there in these games, and every play’s important. Just the feeling overall is just tremendous. You go out there, you got nothing to lose. You feel alive."

And like that, it's gone. The storm passed in Chicago in more ways than one overnight Thursday, with the teams plunging into a two-day break before Game 2 arrives on Saturday. The emotional hangover likely was to greet both teams the morning after, but forgetting the unforgettable becomes the primary task.

In fact, it could be argued that there were so many chances for both sides, so many perilous close calls and agonizing near-misses, that it's easy for both the Hawks and Bruins to feel they did enough to win. The Hawks did, of course, but the balanced effort may mitigate any mental edge it provides.

"Both teams are just kicking, trying to survive," Hawks captain Jonathan Toews said. "Every time you go back on the ice, you get that feeling that it's going to be that one chance that makes the difference.

"Both teams wanted to win that game and no one was going to give it up easy. We're obviously feeling pretty good about it, but it's time to go home and get some rest now."

Neither team, as expected, had a formal practice set for Thursday. Both teams would hold off on media access until the afternoon hours, so as to get at least some semblance of a good night's sleep.

And both teams, in processing what just happened Wednesday, would try to figure out what to do for an encore.

"We have to bounce back and regroup," the Bruins' Rich Peverley said. "It was a long game, back and forth, but we have to move on and do everything we can to focus on the next game."